In the early 1830s, Alexandre-Jean Dubois-Drahonet was commissioned by King William IV of England to create a series of 100 paintings illustrating recent changes to the uniforms and weapons on the British Army. King Louis-Philippe of France followed, commissioning a series of French military paintings from the artist. The French series may have been a part of the King's project to establish a museum at Versailles.

Well known in France as a society portrait painter in the courts of Kings Charles X and Louis-Philippe, in this series Dubois-Drahonet takes great care to depict the details of the uniforms and weaponry. The present lot depicts a member of the National Guard cavalry playing a trumpet. Please see the following lot for another example. 91 works from the British series are in the collection of the British royal family housed at Windsor Castle and more than a dozen from the French series are in the collection of the Musée de la Marine in Paris. After Dubois-Drahonet's death, the French series was completed by Paul Lecomte.